Saudi Arabia: Almarai Company, Middle East’s leading food and beverage manufacturer and distributor, has been awarded the ISO 9001:2015 certification for Quality Management Systems. The certification has been obtained for all Almarai’s operations in Saudi Arabia through a series of multi-site certification audits across its various subsidiaries and facilities in the Kingdom. The Intertek ISO 9001 certificate is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, has collaborated with Almarai for the certification since 2018, when it began an extensive audit process, which involved numerous production facilities and subsidiaries.
Phil Clarke, Almarai’s head of quality, said, “At the heart of Almarai’s success is the trust earned over 40 years for our continuous commitment to quality. Achieving this certification from Intertek, considered to be one of the most stringent international standards for Quality Management Systems, is testament to our relentless drive to implementing best-in-class quality practices. The standard provides a competitive advantage and helps ensure that customers get consistent, good quality products and services through continuous improvement. Our growth is driven by this persistent pursuit of quality, supported by a distinctive infrastructure mix that incorporates world-class farms, production operations and distribution systems.”
As one of the world’s largest dairy companies and the world’s largest vertically integrated producer, Almarai controls all facets of the production process from crop production and dairy farming to manufacturing, processing and packaging. The vertical integration requires Almarai’s stringent quality standards to be met at every stage of the production, and the Quality Management Systems to be put in place across all operations.
Samir Ahmed, General Manager at Intertek Business Assurance, Gulf Region, said, “Almarai is an established and admired brand not just in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but throughout the Middle East. Its continued success and leadership in the market is driven by a strategic commitment to quality.”
He added, “The teams are highly experienced in quality management, which is implemented across the value chain and exceeds the minimum standard requirements of ISO 9001 within the industry.”